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Squirrel season 2023

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AmosBurton

AmosBurton

Member
Jul 11, 2022
557
732
Staunton, IL, USA
In Illinois, squirrel season runs from Aug 1-Feb 15 and I'm excited for early mornings pre-sunrise walking/sitting in the woods!
For me it is the beginning of my hunt calendar since I only really hunt 3 things - squirrel, rabbit, and deer.
And I'm very lucky that I can just walk out my door and start hunting!

Since last season, it seems the squirrels have mostly forgotten that I'm a threat. They used to run the second I popped out the door, not so much now...I'm sure that'll change quickly once I start shooting them again, lol.

This year I have two low budget guns to chose from - a .25 Avenger and the .22 Notos. Last year I only had the Avenger, so I'm looking forward to using the quieter and easier to carry Notos for stalking in the woods. Once the leaves fall and the squirrels can hear/see me coming more easily, I'll use the Avenger to reach out from a bit farther away.

Anybody else pumped to get back out hunting?
 
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Yes. Over the border in Indiana season isn’t until August 15. But I’m already out checking my rifle holdovers and just doing what I can to prep. Hoping to get a few more permissions for hunting this year to add to the opportunities.

It will be nice to be out in the woods again waking up with nature. Enjoying the sounds and just watching the different animals interacting.

Won’t be long.
 
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jland48 said:
I love to hunt squirrels with my pcp's, but where I live season doesn't open till October 1st.. Temperatures here( Texas gulf coast) are still hitting 100 on a daily basis and I like to hunt in lower temps.
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I was in Dallas in June for work, the heat was unbearable! I don't know how y'all survive down there on the daily.
 
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mobilemail said:
The first six weeks are what I refer to as "bug, snake and tick season". And on the public lands I hunt, it's like wading through a tropical jungle.
But I'm still excited. :)
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Can I ask what public lands you do hunt? And if it's with an air rifle? We're not that far from each other(62088). I'm not from here and still trying to figure all the regulations out. The DNR doesn't really make it easy to figure things out.
 
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Struckat - rattlesnake, copperhead, cottonmouth.
Amos- Ive had the best hunting at Ray Norbut CA along the IL river. My success at Copperhead Hollow has been spotty and inconsistent. My visits to Marquette Park (after Labor Day reqd) and Beaver Dam have been unfruitful.
All these places allow airgun up to .25 and rimfire PB.
I'm attaching a file that I got from IDNR several years ago that list the public sites airguns can/can't be used. If you know of any good squirrel hunting in the area, I'm listening! Staunton is my old stomping ground, I was just over there for Tour de Donut.
 
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mobilemail - Thank you! I will check all of those places out (please reattach that airgun file or PM me, I don't see it). As to good squirrel hunting, I hunt my own 5 wooded acres, I've got enough to go around, lol.
The Tour de Donut - I really need to enter that "race"! You went right past my house BTW.

RangerPete - we have a bunch - Red, Fox, Grey(Eastern and Western), Flying(more than 1 I believe), 13 Lined Ground Squirrel, California Ground Squirrel, probably more. They, as far as I know, are all indigenous to the US but may have moved into new areas that they aren't considered native to...
As to eating, I've eaten Fox and Grey. Fox are tough, sort of the Schwarzennegger of squirrels, and require a long, slow cook to make them edible. Greys are smaller and way more tender than the Fox squirrel and tasty. My wife likes to use them as a replacement for (you guessed it) chicken. Takes at least 4 to get enough meat to get close to a chicken though.
 
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Well Missouri season has been open since May, don't really help as the leaves are so thick you can't see them. I really like to wait until the leave start turning of the fall to hunt them. I did take a fox squirrel a few days ago when I was just out for a walk, it was so tough you couldn't bite the flesh, this after parboiling it for over an hour. I don't think I'll shoot another fox squirrel. I shot a small grey last year that the meat was pink, quick fried and very tender.
 
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RangerPete said:
I didn’t realize you had a squirrel season in the US 🤔.
How many species of squirrel do you have?
Are they all indigeniouss or are some invasive?
Any good for eating?
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There are several species of squirrel in the US. Where I live in IL, the common species are grey and fox squirrels. The fox squirrels are generally preferred because they are considerably bigger, but grey are more common. Where I used to live in NW Florida, the fox squirrels had been hunted down to the brink of surviving and are now protected.
As far as I know, none of our squirrel species are invasive. The more common varieties like grey, fox and red squirrels are game animals, but there are other varieties, like the flying squirrel, that are protected. These are all tree dwellers, not ground pounders like those digging up the west.
 
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